Trust Co. of Vermont Sells 179 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Trust Co. of Vermont decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 179 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.9% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 17,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,713,000 after buying an additional 9,459 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 26.7% during the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 14,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 3,116 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.9% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 3,484 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13.0% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 271,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,429,000 after purchasing an additional 31,200 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 89,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,656,000 after purchasing an additional 3,874 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.40.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $137.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market cap of $221.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $138.08. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $129.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.58.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 56.32%.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.